The disclosure relates to the field of splicing of optical waveguides, in order to connect the end pieces of two optical fibers to one another and thus to make a connection which is suitable for optical transmission. In the case of engagement such as this, various preparatory steps must be carried out first of all, before the actual splicing process, in order to prepare the end pieces of the two optical fibers. During this process, the coating on each of the fibers is removed on the end piece of the respective optical waveguide, that is to say it is first of all cut through and is then stripped off In addition to this so-called stripping process, it is generally also necessary to clean the optical fiber exposed thereby at the end.
Traditionally, the two steps are carried out using different auxiliary tools, or at least in different units of a corresponding preparation appliance. Furthermore, the outermost end of the exposed end piece must be cut off straight with a clean cut (so-called “cleaving”), in order to ensure a complete fusing of both end pieces over the entire cross-sectional area of the optical fibers during the subsequent splicing process. The splicing process (“fusion splicing”) is finally carried out, normally in a separate appliance, the actual splicer, in which process both end pieces are fused to form a single continuous optical fiber (optical waveguide). After this, the spliced connection must be protected against external light incidence and other influences and to this end must be provided with a suitable protective housing, which encloses the spliced connection that has been produced.
The above processing steps are traditionally carried out using different instruments, with a protective housing being fitted in the fifth and final step, and remaining permanently on the spliced connection that is produced. High-quality instruments are used for the previous four processing steps and must be constructed with adequate precision in order to guarantee the precision that is required, bearing in mind the small diameter of the optical fibers, even after many years of use, that is to say wear, of these appliances.
The disadvantages are not only the production effort associated with this for the appliances themselves but also the multiplicity of actions which are required for the respective processing steps. In particular, the end pieces of the two optical fibers which are to be spliced to one another are mounted a number of times on different appliances or appliance units during the processing procedure as sketched above, in each of which they are positioned with high precision in an accurate position.